"Surprisingly positive" figures for housing

Wednesday, March 21st 2001, 1:36PM

Citing a run of "surprisingly positive data", the bank says that Barfoot & Thompson (which accounts for about 30 per cent of Auckland residential sales) has reported a further sharp rise in house sales for February. Monthly, seasonally adjusted growth over the past four months has been four per cent, six per cent, ten per cent and eight per cent respectively.

Deutsche Bank says that the firm's data has a very good relationship with nation-wide sales. "If the current momentum is sustained, upward pressure on house prices is likely to develop at some point. Increasing house prices would reinforce the generally positive influence of increasing housing activity on retail spending levels."

"As we noted following the release of the January building consents, data over recent months has pointed increasingly to the prospect of a significant rebound in housing market activity over coming months. The latest house sales data published by Barfoot & Thompson paints a similar picture."